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THE SCORE OF THE BOX
The thrill of victory. The agony of defeat.
In a 12-month period, a team has never experienced as much trouble as Notre Dame's women's basketball after losing 82-81 to Baylor on Sunday night in the NCAA Championship game.
A year after fighting the Irish Guard Arike Ogunbowale As a basketball legend with two goals in the final Four victories against UConn and Mississippi State, the All-American champion again had the ball in the hands with two free throws, Notre Dame trailing 82-80. and 1.9 seconds.
Ogunbowale, who converted 33 of his 36 free throws in this year's NCAA tournament, missed the first and inadvertently converted the second, thus preventing any chance of the basket coming back. Baylor then started the clock on two assists in the limit to prevent his head coach McGraw's Muffet Fight the Irish to repeat as national champions.
Meanwhile, Baylor Chloe Jackson became the Ogunbowale of the 2019 Final with 26 points, highlighted by aggressive speeding behavior and a hold just after the outstretched arm of the Notre Dame Shooting Blocker Brianna Turner for an advantage of 82-80 with 3.9 seconds left.
Faithful to the past and the recent shape of the NCAA tournament, Notre Dame took 17 points behind in the first half, but made another dazzling rally in the second half, scoring 50 points after the intermission, highlighted by three triples in fourth quarter by the senior guard. Marina Mabrey. Ogunbowale, Notre Dame's top scorer, finished with 31 points while Mabrey added 21, including 4 over 8 over the arc.
Baylor kept control for most of the competition, but a turning point came: he was 1:22 in the third quarter and the Bears had a 62-50 advantage. Baylor 6-4 junior Lauren Cox, who has joined 6-7 Kalani Brown on the nation's most formidable front line, suffered a serious left-leg injury in a battle for a rebound.
Minus Cox for the rest of the match, the Bears still had a 66-55 lead in the fourth quarter, but a three-pointer Ogunbowale on the horn – a familiar sight – became a signal Notre Dame was hiding with another rally. In addition, two nights earlier, UConn had an almost identical lead (64-55) over the Irish with 7:55 to go before dropping 81-76. Our Lady finished with 81 again – but this time on the short run.
The Bears continued to hold Notre Dame at bay with a 70-63 lead, but three Mabrey trios in the 2:05 span tied the score at 74, with 5-18 remaining. An Ogunbowale free kick gave the Irish their first lead (77-76) since 3-2. It would also be their final advantage.
Brown converted inside at 2:34 for a 78-77 Baylor advance, and a Jackson jumper at the 35-second mark allowed the Bears to go up 80-78. Two free throws from the senior Irish striker Jessica Shepard 17 seconds tied before the superb Jackson match.
The Irish Fighting started with their typical slow start, converting just one of their first 16 field goal attempts while Baylor was 8 out of 11 to build a quick 17-7. Our closest lady came the rest of the first half was 21-14, and Baylor extended her lead in the first 20 minutes to 33-16. The tandem of Brown and Cox had only four points while the rest of the team was 10 out of 14 of the group, led by Jackson on 5 out of 5.
With a score of 43-31 at half-time, the Bears dominated in the paint with a 30-8 advantage, but the biggest surprise was defeating Notre Dame at his own game with a 14-2 lead quick break points.
Notre Dame began posting blinks from another back when she reduced the deficit to 53-46 at 4:15 of the third quarter with an Ogunbowale basket, but Baylor responded with a 7-0 run to hold the Irish Remote – until Cox Injury.
Three point game
1. Heart of two champions
Baylor deserved to win. He dominated the action for three quarters, then when his best player on both sides of the field was removed from the final 11:22 and the Bears were late and had some crazy problems, they found strength incredible mental to finish with the victory. This reminded us of the same hardness that the Fighting Irish presented last year while overcoming so many setbacks to win everything. Baylor, freshman, embodied their determination NaLyssa Smith, who replaced Cox with 14 points, six rebounds and a blocked shot.
Like Ali-Frazier at his peak, over the decades, these two teams will forever be champions as their exploits grow (with good reason) over time.
2. No finishing touches this time
Although Cox's injury was the first major turning point in the fight, the 3:18 final was just as crucial after the Irish won 77-76. The Irish did not "play so as not to lose" and attacked aggressively, but they could not build the coveted two-point lead they had in the final minutes against UConn.
Perhaps the best reflection of the difficulty with which Notre Dame struggled against its rebound advantage of 44-38 – including 21-14 in attack – against the country's No. 1 team by bouncing back to a margin of About 17 per game. Although Baylor's size is much discussed, the speed of its perimeter and its speed of recovery are equally impressive. It's as if the NFL's QBs had such a small window to finish their passes. Nobody ever seems to be open, and virtually all points must be earned.
3. Prepare for reconstruction
UConn, Baylor and Notre Dame were the three leading leading programs in women's sport this decade, but the 2020s will begin with reconstruction. Time will put in context all that Notre Dame Notre-Dame is losing, which is as spectacular as the defeat of the 1988-1989 Irish football teams who won a national title and missed a second. .
Dependent on the junior Jackie Young, which has an upcoming decision on whether to become pro or come back, the Irish could still be of 16 caliber next year. Without it … just start by going back to the NCAA tournament and build from there.
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